Carnival Horizon is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the 26th vessel in the Carnival fleet and is the second of Carnival's Vista class, which includes Carnival Vista and Carnival Panorama.
The ship has a tonnage of [4] and a capacity of 3,960 passengers.[5] In 2019, she and her sister ship, Carnival Vista, were both superseded as the largest Carnival ship by their sister, the Carnival Panorama.
History
Planning and construction
On December 19, 2014, Carnival Corporation announced a new order with Fincantieri for a second Vista-class cruise ship ship to be similarly designed to her sister ship, Carnival Vista, making her the 26th vessel in the fleet.[6]
On July 29, 2016, Carnival announced the name of its second Vista-class vessel as Carnival Horizon.[7][8] Construction of the ship took 30 months, which included the steel cutting in March 2015, the keel laying in April 2016, and the sea trials in November 2017.[9]
Delivery and christening
On March 28, 2018, Fincantieri delivered Carnival Horizon to Carnival Cruise Line.[10][11]
On March 1, 2018, Carnival announced Queen Latifah as the godmother of Carnival Horizon.[12] She christened the vessel on May 23, 2018 upon her arrival in New York City from a 14-day transatlantic crossing.[9]
Itinerary
Carnival Horizon embarked on her maiden voyage on April 2, 2018 from Barcelona for a 13-day Mediterranean sailing, visiting ports of call in Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Malta.[13] The ship continued a series of cruises for a short season in the Mediterranean before re-positioning to New York City in May for the remainder of summer 2018.[14] From New York, she operated sailings to the Caribbean and Bermuda before re-positioning to Miami in September, where she offers year-round six-night cruises to the Western Caribbean and eight-night cruises to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.[15]
Incidents
On November 15, 2019, a passenger fell four stories off a balcony to his death from a lower deck of the ship just as it was returning to Miami, Florida. The medical staff on board the ship responded to the incident; however, they could not revive him. According to the medical examiner's office, it was revealed that the passenger's death was due to blunt force trauma and not a suicide.[16]
On March 16, 2022, a male passenger jumped from the 11th deck into the water around 19:00 after departing Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos. The ship immediately initiated search and rescue procedures. The US Coast Guard was notified and the body of the passenger was located at approximately 21:00.[17]
On November 8, 2025, the body of 18-year old Anna Kepner was found under a bed rolled in a blanket and concealed by life vests.[18] She had boarded the vessel along with her father, stepmother and two step-siblings (a 16-year old male and 9-year old female) on November 2; the ship was departing Miami, Florida, for a 6-day Caribbean cruise.[19] The FBI informed the family that the 16-year old male may be implicated for Anna's death.[20] Preliminary findings suggest the cause of death was asphyxiation from an arm across her neck.[21]
External links
References
- FINCANTIERI DOPPIO ORDINE DA CARNIVAL 2014-12-19, retrieved 2016-08-21^
- DRY DOCK WORKS START ON THE NEW CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE VESSEL 2016-04-05, retrieved 2017-03-11^
- FINCANTIERI: "CARNIVAL HORIZON" LAUNCHED IN MARGHERA 2017-03-10, retrieved 2017-03-11^
- {{csr|register=LR|shipname=Carnival Horizon|id=9767091|access-date=31 October 2019}}^
- Carnival Horizon Fact Sheet Carnival Cruise Line News, Carnival Corporation, August 12, 2018, retrieved 31 October 2019^
- Carnival Corporation Announces Two New Ship Orders with Fincantieri – Carnival Cruise Line News Carnival Newsroom, 2014-12-19^
- Rebecca Gibson. Carnival to name newbuild Carnival Horizon Cruise&Ferry.net, August 1, 2016, retrieved August 2, 2016^
- Jill Sayles. Carnival Cruise Line's new ship to be named Carnival Horizon Cruise Trade News, August 2, 2016, retrieved August 2, 2016^
- New York City Welcomes Carnival Horizon The Maritime Executive, retrieved 2019-09-11^
- C. I. N. Staff. Carnival Takes Delivery of New Carnival Horizon www.cruiseindustrynews.com, 2018-03-28, retrieved 2019-11-13^
- Fincantieri www.fincantieri.com, retrieved 2019-11-13^
- Gene Sloan. Queen Latifah to christen giant new Carnival cruise ship USA TODAY, retrieved 2019-09-11^
- Doug Parker. Carnival Horizon Sails First Cruise Cruise Radio, 2018-04-02^
- New Carnival Horizon Sails on Maiden Voyage from Barcelona – Carnival Cruise Line News Carnival Newsroom, 2018-04-02^
- Carnival Cruise Line's Three Newest Cruise Ships Headed to New Homeports cruisefever.net, August 13, 2018, retrieved 2018-08-14^
- Vic Ryckaert. Cruise ship death: Indiana father killed in fall from Carnival balcony IndyStar, 2019-11-20, retrieved 2019-12-16^
- Carnival Horizon Searching for Man Overboard after leaving Turks and Caicos^
- Teen who died on Carnival cruise was found under bed, stepbrother under investigation: Source ABC News, retrieved 2025-11-20^
- Teenager Under Investigation After Stepsister Is Found Dead on Cruise Ship 2025-11-19, retrieved 2025-11-20^
- Speculation intensifies in the death of a Florida high schooler on a cruise AP News, 2025-11-19, retrieved 2025-11-20^
- Coral Murphy Marcos. Stepbrother investigated in death of Florida high schooler on cruise ship The Guardian, 2025-11-22, retrieved 2025-11-23^